Every Hillsborough Transformation Network school earns a C or better in 2026, a first

Six years after Hillsborough County Public Schools built a special network to rescue its lowest-performing campuses, every school in it earned an A, B or C from the state in 2026, the first time that has happened in district history. The district's Transformation Network, launched in 2020 to support schools graded D or F, is now being credited by district leaders as a central reason Hillsborough earned its first A district grade in more than a decade, and the Tampa Bay Times reported on Nov. 8 that the approach, which leans on data tracking and even DJs in classrooms, is working.

The results matter well beyond Tampa. Hillsborough is one of the largest school districts in Florida, and only two years ago its deputy superintendent was celebrating that it was no longer the district with the most D and F schools in the state.

What the Transformation Network is

The Transformation Network launched in 2020 with 50 low-performing schools, meaning schools that had earned D or F grades from the Florida Department of Education, according to Spectrum Bay News 9.

Schools in the network receive extra help that other campuses do not. WUSF Public Media reported in July that the network builds support plans for specific students and works to fill teacher vacancies at the district's most consistently underperforming schools. In 2024, district officials told Bay News 9 that the model also included one-on-one mentors for students, wraparound services such as food and clothing, and a focus on social and emotional learning alongside academics.

Deputy Superintendent Shaylia McRae summed up the philosophy in that 2024 interview. "I think the key to this is really identifying individualized support for kids," she said.

The 2026 results

When the state released 2025-26 school grades in July, Hillsborough County Public Schools earned an A district grade, which Spectrum News reported was the first in more than a decade. For the first time in district history, every Transformation Network school earned an A, B or C.

A district release highlighted two elementary schools that jumped two letter grades, from a D to a B: Booker T. Washington Elementary and Wilson Elementary. WUSF reported that Hillsborough had three D schools that rose at least two grade levels this year.

At Lamb Elementary School, Principal Shawnette Singleton told Spectrum News the school earned its first-ever A. Four years earlier, when Singleton and an assistant principal arrived, Lamb had been two points short of an F. Singleton credited close attention to data. "It's how we track data throughout the school year from the very beginning to the very end," she said.

FOX 13 reported in August that 74 Hillsborough schools, about 32 percent of the district, earned an A, that no school earned an F, and that 40 schools raised their overall grade by one letter. The station reported one D school in the district; other coverage of the release described a small number of D grades, and The Florida Press could not confirm the final count from state data.

The table below shows the network's trajectory based on figures reported by the district and local news outlets.

Data and DJs

The Tampa Bay Times story by education reporter Divya Kumar described the network as designed to save floundering schools and said that, thanks to data and some DJs, it is working. A Times photo showed third-grade teacher Christina Weaver leading students in dancing while a DJ played music at Mort Elementary in Tampa on Oct. 8.

The emphasis on tracking student progress has been a consistent thread. Singleton told Spectrum News that watching students move and grow into the next performance band over the course of the year is very exciting, and McRae credited the network directly for the district's progress in her July comments to WUSF. "This has been a stellar year for us," McRae said.

Staffing has also shifted. FOX 13 reported that Hillsborough began the 2026-27 school year with about 200 teacher vacancies, down from more than 650 two years earlier, with a voter-approved property tax millage helping to fill positions. Filling vacancies at hard-to-staff schools is one of the network's stated goals.

Some caution about the numbers

Not everyone reads the 2026 grades as proof of a breakthrough. Statewide, 76 percent of Florida public schools earned an A or B in 2025-26, the most ever, according to WUSF. Damaris Allen, who leads Families for Strong Public Schools and is a former Hillsborough parent, told WUSF that grades often rise in election years because the formula changes, even when the test does not.

The bar is also about to rise. Under state law, grading gets tougher once 75 percent of schools earn an A or B, and WUSF reported that schools will need 3 to 5 more points next year to earn an A. McRae acknowledged the challenge, telling the station that constantly changing goal posts and refined standards make it hard to get into a rhythm.

What it means for Tampa Bay families

For families in neighborhoods whose schools spent years at the bottom of state rankings, the 2026 grades mean no Transformation Network campus is carrying a D or F label this year. That status can affect everything from teacher recruitment to whether parents choose to stay at a neighborhood school or apply elsewhere through Florida's school choice programs.

Superintendent Van Ayres said in a statement after the grades came out that the results show students are succeeding at higher levels than ever before, according to Spectrum News.

What's next

The district must now hold its gains under a stricter grading scale when 2026-27 results are released next summer. The network's size for this school year was not detailed in the district materials and coverage The Florida Press reviewed. Governance is changing as well: the Tampa Bay Times reported on Nov. 3 that Hillsborough voted to make the school superintendent an elected role, meaning the network's future direction will eventually rest with a leader chosen at the ballot box.